


Tethered

by KawaiiKonekohime



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Character Turned Into a Ghost, Drama, F/M, Romance, Supernatural Elements, Yandere
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-23
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2019-04-26 15:43:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14405286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KawaiiKonekohime/pseuds/KawaiiKonekohime
Summary: "There are three kinds of people that can see ghosts: the tether--the person they are attached to in order to resolve their grudge and move on, a few psychics here and there, and the person that killed them."After Marinette's death, she finds herself tethered to Lila Rossi, leading her to see the world from another perspective.





	Tethered

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, everyone! Welcome to Tethered! I hope you enjoy the story!
> 
> Warning: This story contains a ghost Marinette, a yandere, and an author pretending to know something about ghosts and the supernatural world when she clearly does not.

“Wow,” Lila breathed, looking over the bridge from her place on the bench. “This view is breathtaking, Alexandre. Thank you for inviting me.”

_“Great, now kiss him.”_

Alexandre smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “Of course,” he said with a slight blush. “Thanks for agreeing.”

_“Kiss him now.”_

Lila’s smile faltered. “Y-yeah…”

_“Do you even know how to kiss?”_

She glared at a place behind Alexandre’s head for a second, then looked back at him. Her smile returned to full strength. She giggled flirtatiously. “You were saying?”

“Is…,” Alexandre paused to make sure no one was behind him. When he confirmed that, he turned back to Lila. “Is everything okay, Lila?”

Lila giggled again. “Of course, it is!” she assured. “Why wouldn’t it be okay?”

_“Seriously, at this point, I probably get more action than you—and I’m dead.”_

“Shut up!” Lila shouted.

Alexandre gave a startled jump. He cleared his throat and stood. “M-maybe we should continue this later…”

“Wait, Alexandre…” Lila said in a weak attempt to get him to stay. “Please don’t go…”

“Really, I’m running late for…something, I’m sure. Bye, Lila!” Alexandre gave a half-wave, then left as quickly as he could without seeming to be in a panicked run.

Lila did not even bother to give chase. She let out a frustrated sigh. “Seriously?!” she demanded, yelling at the place she previously glared at.

“What?” the source of the disembodied voice materialized, revealing a see-through girl with a wide grin. “I didn’t do anything. You’re the one that just yelled for him to shut up for no reason.”

Lila rolled her eyes. “I was talked to you, not him. You know that, Marinette.”

“But he doesn’t,” Marinette retorted. “He doesn’t even know I exist. I told you—only people that can see me are you, a few psychics here and there, and the person that killed me.”

Lila rolled her eyes again. “Lucky me,” she said sarcastically. She started to walk away. Marinette followed closely behind. “I get to see a ghost that follows me wherever I go. Could you stop that, by the way? I didn’t even like you all that much when you were alive.”

“I’m tethered to you for some reason,” Marinette said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “You want to be rid of me, you have to help me resolve my grudge.”

“And trust me,” Lila said, crossing her arms. “I’d love to do that, just to get you out of my hair. But, you’ve forgotten one little detail.”

Marinette sighed. “I see how me forgetting what my grudge is a bit of a setback. But, that just means we have to work a little harder to figure out what it is. We can do it!”

Lila rolled her eyes once more. She seemed to do that a lot since Marinette made herself a permanent presence in her life two weeks ago. “Ever the optimist,” she muttered. “Even from beyond the grave.”

Marinette laughed lightly. “Have to laugh to keep from crying, right?” She followed two steps behind Lila as they walked. “Where are you going?”

“Has being dead made you stupid?” Lila asked with a raised eyebrow. “It’s 1 pm. Lunch is over. I’m going to school.”

If Marinette still had a heart, she was pretty sure it would have just skipped a beat. “Do you think Adrien will be there?”

Lila sent Marinette a sympathetic glance. “It’s hard to say,” she replied. “He hasn’t been there since the funeral.”

Marinette slowed. “Oh,” she said solemnly. “Is that right?”

Lila nodded. “He misses you,” she said. “You should let me tell him that you’re still here.”

Marinette shook her head. “No way,” she said. “If he found out, it would only hurt him more.”

“How so?” Lila asked.

“Think about it,” Marinette said. “Regardless to whether he know I’m here or not, I’m still just as dead. He can’t see me, or hear me, or touch me. And once he realizes that, it will just break his heart all over again.”

Lila shrugged. “That makes sense, I guess,” she mumbled. “But, I still think he deserves the truth. I’d want to know.”

Marinette scoffed. “You of all people are preaching to me about telling the truth? That’s rich.”

“I’m trying to help,” Lila muttered. “Thanks for being so appreciative.”

Marinette sighed. “You’re right,” she conceded. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. You’re right. I owe him the truth. And one day, I’ll tell him. When my grudge is resolved, and I can leave him with a feeling of peace.”

Lila nodded in understanding. The school came into view and she came to a complete stop. She suddenly blushed furiously.

Marinette stopped beside her. She frowned, wondering what suddenly brought Lila’s change in demeanor. She followed Lila’s line of sight until they rested on a familiar red head. “Ah. I see.”

Lila shook herself out of her sudden trance and raised an eyebrow. “See what?”

“I know that lovestruck look anywhere,” Marinette said with a chuckle. “You’ve got it bad for Nathaniel!”

Lila’s blush deepened. “W-what?”

“You really like Nathaniel,” Marinette said. Lila hurriedly walked towards the school, trying her best to avoid the subject. Of course, it did not work. Marinette simply followed her. “Which begs the question, why are you going on dates with guys like Alexandre when you like Nate?”

Lila sighed, subconsciously looking around to make sure no one heard Marinette. She mentally facepalmed when she realized that she was checking to make sure no one heard a ghost only she could see. “Look, when you like someone, you realize just how many people like him, too. He’s incredibly popular. A lot of people started noticing him and Luka, especially when Adrien was off the market. I don’t stand a chance.”

“Well, that’s just silly,” Marinette said as they walked into the classroom.

“Excuse me?” Lila asked with a raised eyebrow. She sat in her seat.

Marinette sat beside her. “Well, you’re just as pretty, smart, and nice as any of those other girls. Why wouldn’t you stand a chance? You’re giving up before you try. I mean, I was a total spazz crushing on a model, and I still stood a chance. If I could do it, so can you. Why don’t you try being his friend? You know, getting to know him?”

Lila stayed silent. She watched as the other students, Nathaniel included, filed into the classroom.

Marinette chuckled. Lila was lost to her at this point. She knew that as soon as Nathaniel took his seat. She gave her attention back to the door, watching others walk in as well. “Adrien…,” she breathed.

Adrien and Chloe walked in the classroom side by side. Adrien’s eyes were red. His face was puffy. Chloe looked at him pathetically, whispering words of comfort every so often.

Marinette’s heart broke at the sight. If he thought this condition was finally presentable enough to come to school, she would hate to see what he looked like for the past two weeks. “Adrien…”

“At least Chloe is there to comfort him,” Lila said.

Marinette nodded. “Yeah,” she said with a soft smile. In the weeks before Marinette’s death, she noticed Chloe making an honest effort to be nice. She remembered Adrien pridefully claiming it was because of him, Butler Jean, and a fortune cookie.

Marinette did not know the exact story, but after Adrien’s proclamation, she noticed Chloe holding the door for strangers, complimenting people, and just being an all-around friendly person. It seemed the trend continued even after Marinette’s passing.

Lila glanced at the ghost beside her. “You know, Chloe’s been visiting your grave every day. She leaves flowers for you. She’d deny it if anyone asks, but she looked up to you. She thought you and Adrien were a perfect match.”

“Really?” Marinette asked in surprise. “I… I didn’t know that.”

Chloe left Adrien’s side to go to her own seat. She whispered something in Sabrina’s ear.

Marinette took the chance to stand. “I’ll be back,” she said. She phased through the desks until she came to Adrien’s seat. She sat beside him and wrapped her arms around him. She knew he would not be able to respond, or even feel her presence, but she simply wanted to be closer to him.

She glanced up to see Sabrina nod. “Sure, Chloe,” she said. “I don’t mind if you change seats for a day.”

Chloe gave a gracious smile and stood. She walked towards Adrien’s desk, but stopped. She scanned the classroom and spotted the empty seat beside Lila. Her smile grew wider.

She sat down beside her. “Hey, there,” Chloe said sweetly. “I hope you don’t mind me sitting here. You looked a little lonely so…”

Lila shook her head. “I don’t mind at all,” she assured.

“Thanks,” Chloe said. “Lila, right? I know we’ve been in class together all this year, but we never get to talk.”

Lila nodded. “Yeah,” she said. “I mean, I’ve noticed you around, but we never crossed paths. In fact, until recently, I, and pretty much everyone, did everything we could to avoid your path.”

Chloe took a deep breath at the mention of her past behavior. She let it out as an embarrassed sigh. “Yeah,” she said. “Those…weren’t my best moments… I’m really embarrassed I ever acted like that.”

“What change?” Lila asked. “Why the decision to suddenly be nice?”

Chloe quieted. “Do…do you want the real reason?”

Lila nodded.

Chloe sighed again. “I asked Adrien what he liked in a girl. You know, why he chose Marinette over me, even though I’m obviously the better choice.”

Marinette’s head shot up at that, a reaction not missed by Lila. She bit back a laugh. She nodded, urging Chloe to continue. “Uh huh?”

“And pretty much,” Chloe said. “He told me that guys like girls that treat them well. That really got me thinking. I could not remember anytime where I’ve made anyone in my life think I treated them well, at least without me being mean to them first. That’s why I started. Then, Marinette died. I saw so many people mourn her. They loved her and hated the fact that she was gone. I know it sounds really bad, but… I want people to miss me when I’m gone, too.”

“So, you want to be more like Marinette to win over Adrien?” Lila asked.

Chloe shook her head. “I want to be more like Marinette to be a better person,” she explained. “That’s my goal. And I think Marinette would want me to be friends with you in her place.”

Lila glanced over to Marinette. Marinette gave a shrug and her silent blessing. Lila smiled. “You know what?” she said, looking back at Chloe. “I think Marinette would like that, too.”

“So, friends?” Chloe asked, extending a hand for Lila to shake.

Lila smiled and nodded. “Friends,” she said, accepting the handshake.

“Ladies,” Ms. Bustier called from the front of the classroom. “Please stop talking and pay attention! All of this material will be on the test on Monday.”

Both girls had the decency to blush. They mumbled their apologies and quieted down.

The rest of class passed uneventfully. Marinette stayed by Adrien’s side until the bell rang. Adrien stood, and Marinette watched pathetically as he walked away, probably off to his fencing class. Marinette sighed and returned to Lila’s side.

“Oh, Adrien left without you, Chloe,” Lila pointed to the door that Adrien just walked out of.

Chloe looked at Lila with a small smile, a calculating look in her eyes. Marinette tilted her head. It was as though Chloe was deciding to catch up with Adrien or stay with Lila. Finally, Chloe responded. “I think Adrien could use some time alone. But, we can walk together, right?”

Lila flashed a look of surprise. Had Chloe just chosen her presence over Adrien’s? Seriously. She cleared her throat and quickly erased the surprise from her face. “Of course, we can,” she replied.

Chloe’s smile grew wider. She gathered Lila’s belonging and held them as they walked out the classroom. Marinette followed close behind.

Squeals echoed through the hall. Marinette frowned. “What was that?” she asked.

“Nathaniel’s fan club,” Lila replied automatically, giving a roll of her eyes. She gave a small gasp and bit her lower lip, realizing that she replied to a ghost right in front of Chloe.

“They’re a little eccentric, aren’t they?” Chloe asked, unaware of Lila’s mistake. “They get louder and louder every day.”

“They really like him, I guess,” Lila mused.

“They don’t stand a chance,” Chloe said as they made it to their next classroom. “Nathaniel doesn’t like girls like that.”

“No?” Lila asked, a small blush gracing her face. “You know what kind of girls Nathaniel like?”

“Of course,” Chloe said. She stopped in the doorway. “He likes…girls like that.”

Lila frowned and peeked inside the classroom to see what Chloe was talking about. Her heart almost shattered instantly. “Oh…,” she whispered, trying her best to conceal her feelings of heartbreak.

“What?” Marinette asked. “I want to see!” She phased through the wall to see the scene that shattered Lila so quickly.

There she was. An upperclassman used passing period to her advantage. She smiled flirtatiously, looking over Nathaniel’s artwork and pointing out the details that only someone with an artist’s eye could notice. “You know,” she finally went in for the kill. “I’ve seen details like these in an animated movie recently. It so happens that movie is playing on Saturday, you know, if you wanted to go with me.”

Nathaniel smiled lightly. “Yeah, that sounds great, Elise. I’d love to.”

“Great!” Elise said happily. She pulled out a pencil and scribbled her phone number on the corner of his sketch book. “Text me, okay?”

Nathaniel nodded. “Yeah, sure,” he said. “I’ll see you this weekend.”

Elise smiled triumphantly and walked out of the classroom. She smirked at Chloe and Lila as she passed. “Sorry, cuties,” she whispered. “You’ve got to be quicker than that.”

Chloe scowled, watching her leave. “What are little witch,” she muttered. “What does she know? You don’t like Nathaniel anyway.”

Lila’s eyes lowered to the floor. “Yeah,” she mumbled. She wordlessly sat in her seat.

Chloe watched Lila’s actions with confused eye. “Hm,” she said, before taking her own seat.

Marinette sighed and sat next to Lila. “Hey there,” she said. “Please don’t give up. Nathaniel was just trying to be nice. He’d like you if you gathered the courage to talk to him.”

“Shut up,” she mumbled.

“Lila—.”

Lila swatted her hand at Marinette. It disturbed Marinette’s ghost form, getting the message that she did not want to talk across. Marinette quieted. “How far away can you be away from me?” Lila asked.

“I…I don’t know,” Marinette said softly. “About fifty feet or so?”

“Then could you go?” she asked. “Please?”

Marinette flashed a look of hurt but nodded regardless. “Of course,” she said. She stood and left the classroom, phasing through the window.

Marinette wordlessly haunted the empty streets, waiting a little bit of time before she attempted to go back inside. She briefly thought of the time that she was harsh to Andre when Adrien did not show for the ice cream date a few years back. She chuckled. “Now I know how it feels, I guess.”

She hummed, pacing in a circle. There was a lot to do while Lila temporarily banished her. For example, she could pass the time by trying to figure out a way to get Lila and Nathaniel together. She knew a star-crossed couple when she knew one, and that couple was certainly meant to be. She sighed. “If only those two could realize that… I just need to get them talking…”

The sound of a horn pulled Marinette out of her thoughts. She gasped, a feeling of panic surging through her. A sharp pain swept over the left side of her body. She suddenly felt clammy and noxious. “Wh-what is this…?” she asked. Why did the sound of a car horn suddenly invoke such a reaction out of her?

The bell releasing the students from their last class of the day echoed but Marinette could barely pay attention to it. A car horn sounded again, this time much closer than the last. She sobbed, the pain on the left side of her body worsening. She had to get inside. Now.

She gasped harshly as she limped into the school, trying her best to ignore the pain that surged through her. She did not even bother to move out of the way of passing student like she usually did. That used too much of the energy that she did not have. Instead she phased through the students until she came to the nearest wall.

She exhaustedly slid down the wall until she sat in the floor, trying to gather her bearings. She whimpered pathetically. “W—where did that come from…?” she asked herself. “Was it because I was too far away from Lila…?”

She nodded to herself. That was the logical conclusion. She could physically be up to fifty feet away from Lila, but clearly, it took a toll on her. If she found Lila, the pain would stop. Right?

She nodded again. With new resolve, she tried to stand up. She groaned, her ability to grip physical objects still horribly weak. She gasped as she accidentally phased through the wall and fell into the classroom on the other side of it.

She winced as she hit the ground unceremoniously. “Ow…,” she mumbled to herself.

“What do you want?!”

Marinette quieted. She frowned. She sat up to see who was in the room with her. Her eyes widened when they recognized Chloe and the girl from earlier.

“What do you want?” Elise demanded again. “You call me in here and then you just stare me down? What kind of creep are you?!”

“Stay away from Nathaniel,” Chloe said calmly.

“What?” Elise scoffed. “You kidding me? This is what this is about? Your little crush on Nathaniel? Dream on. If you liked him, you would have asked him out yourself!”

In one quick move, she grabbed Elise’s ponytail. “I don’t like him,” Chloe said. “I love him to death. I’d do anything to keep him away from trash like you. Please tell me you’ll stay away from him.”

“L-let go!” Elise cried, trying to pry Chloe’s hand away from her hair.

“Fine,” Chloe said, a wide, dark grin slowly crossing her face. “He won’t like you anymore if you’re ugly.”

She snatched a pair of scissors off the teacher’s desk. Marinette watched with horrified eyes as she sliced the scissors across the unsuspecting girl’s face. Elise wailed in pain. “Are you insane?!”

Chloe simply smiled. “Love makes us do crazy things,” she said with a short laugh. She slipped her foot behind Elise’s ankle and pushed her. Elise tripped and fell into the corner of a desk, immediately falling unconscious.

“Oh my god!” Marinette cried, rushing to Elise’s side. She surveyed the damage. Elise was losing blood, but she could hold on until Marinette could find Lila to call for help. She stood and ran towards the door.

“And where do you think you’re going, Marinette?”

Marinette suddenly stopped at the sound of her name. She spun back around. “You…you can see me?”

Chloe chuckled. “Sure can. I could see you the entire time.”

“But the only people that can see me are…”

“According to the psychic I hired when I kept seeing pesky little Marinette hanging around: Your tether, Lila,” Chloe listed, counting it off on her fingers. “Psychics, and the person that killed you.”

Marinette felt her stomach flip. “You wouldn’t happen to be psychic, would you?” she asked weakly.

Chloe smirked and slowly shook her head.

The searing pain returned to Marinette’s left side. She dashed out of the classroom, now in a desperate attempt to find Lila.

Chloe sighed and rolled her eyes. “Just as well,” she muttered. She sighed and walked to her locker, closing the door to the classroom behind her. She hummed as she input the combination and pulled out her bag.

_The bell rang from the front of the shop, indicating that someone just came in. “Come through the curtain,” the shop owner called. She waited patiently for her newest customer to make her way through the curtain. Her eyebrow raised in surprised when she realized that the customer was in fact the daughter of the mayor._

_“Ms. Bourgeois,” she said. “To what do I owe the honor? Visiting a lowly psychic, such as myself, doesn’t seem like the Princess of Paris’s style.”_

_Chloe took a seat. “I see dead people,” she said simply. “Specifically, a girl from my class that died a week ago,” she said. “Why?”_

_“That’s a rare power,” the psychic said. “It takes a very special person to see a ghost. There are three kinds of people that can see spirits.”_

_“And they are?”_

_“A tether,” the psychic explained. “Someone that a ghost attaches itself to in order to get that person’s help in resolving their grudge. The second kind, of course, are psychics like you and me. We have the ability to see ghosts.”_

_“What makes you so sure I’m psychic?” Chloe asked._

_“Because there’s only one other kind—the killer. The person that killed the deceased can see the spirit if it didn’t move on.”_

_Chloe nodded slowly in understanding. “I see…,” she said, calculating. She tilted her head. “But let’s say that ghost starts to get…aggressive,” she said. “How do I get rid of it?”_

_“Well, all ghosts eventually turn into evil spirits,” the psychic explained. “But if this one is only a week old like you say, I doubt it has the capacity for evil.”_

_Chloe took the psychic’s hands and looked at her with vulnerable eyes. “I’m scared of what this ghost is capable of…,” she said weakly. “Please tell me how to kill a ghost.”_

_The psychic looked at their hands, then Chloe’s helpless eyes. She finally nodded. She pulled away and turned to a cabinet behind her. She pulled out a vial of red powder. “This is what you’re looking for. Listen, closely. I’ll tell you how to use it.”_

Chloe returned to the classroom with her bag in hand. She placed the bag on a desk and pulled out the vial, followed by two candles. “You’ve overstayed your welcome, Marinette.”

Elise groaned weakly from her place on the floor. Chloe scowled. She sent a strong kick to the girl’s head, knocking her out again. “Quiet, Ugly. I’m trying to concentrate here.”

 

Lila silently watched from her place on the stairs as Nathaniel spoke to Adrien and Nino. She blushed lightly. As much as she hated to admit when Marinette was right, she was right. Lila had it bad for Nathaniel. If she ever wanted him to know that, she would have to garner up the courage to speak to him.

“You can do this,” Lila said. How hard could it be? She talked to boy she liked before.

_That was when you were a liar. You’ve never been honest with a boy before._

Lila scowled. Her inner voice was starting to sound a lot like Marinette, and she did not like it. Especially when her inner voice was right. She knew why approaching Nathaniel was hard. For the first time, she was going to be her open, honest self and the thought of him rejecting the real her was almost too much to handle.

She made up lies because plain old Lila was boring and vulnerable. At least, her lies provided her a cover. At least, that way, they were rejecting a made-up version of Lila. This time, she did not have that cover.

Taking a deep breath, she descended the stairs, gathering courage with every step. “Nathaniel!”

Nathaniel looked away from his friends. “Lila?” he asked. “Did you call me?”

Lila blushed a little. “Y-yes,” she said. “C-could I talk t-to-to you?”

Nathaniel glanced at his friends, promising to catch up with them later. They gave their blessing and continued to talk to each other.

Nathaniel turned back to Lila. He offered her a smile. “You wanted to talk?”

Lila’s blush grew. “Y-yes. Y-you see…”

_“Lila!”_

Lila inwardly groaned but she kept her smile pasted on her face. Marinette was not going to ruin this for her. Not her chances with Nathaniel.

“Lila, she’s insane!” Marinette sobbed. “She has Elise—you have to do something! Please!”

“Nathaniel,” Lila said between clenched teeth, speaking to Marinette while looking directly at Nathaniel. “I can’t believe I’m finally talking to you!”

Nathaniel smiled, keeping his friendly demeanor despite Lila’s strange behavior. “Yeah, we don’t get to talk very much even though we’re in the same class.”

Marinette understood the secret meaning to Lila’s words. “Please! I know how important this is to you. I wouldn’t ask you this if it wasn’t an emergency. If you don’t do something now, Elise will be in serious trouble!”

Lila tried her best to ignore Marinette. Whatever the ghost was talking about could what until she finished a two-minute conversation with her crush.

Marinette begged. “Please, Lila—ah!” she suddenly cried out. Dark energy sparked around her, shocking her ghostly form. “It hurts…!”

Lila’s eyes went wide. That certainly got her attention. “Marinette!” she cried. “Marinette, what’s wrong?”

Adrien stopped talking to Nino at the sound of Marinette’s name. He turned to listen to their conversation.

Nathaniel frowned. “What about Marinette?”

“It’s Chloe…,” Marinette said weakly, collapsing to her knees. “Room… 208…” Marinette’s form floated away bit by bit, being pulled towards the room.

“Room 208, got it. Hold on, Marinette! I’m on my way!”

Lila started to run away, but Nathaniel grabbed her arm. “Lila, what’s going on?”

Lila bit her lip. If she left things like this, Nathaniel would think she was crazy like the other boys. He would run for the hills, too. She closed her eyes, resigning herself to defeat. “I’m sorry,” she said softly. She pulled her arm away and ran for room 208.

Nathaniel watched her go. Adrien took the opportunity to walk to him. “What was that about?” he asked. “Why was Lila talking about my dead girlfriend like she was right here?”

“I…I don’t know,” Nathaniel said in slight confusion. “But—she’s going to room 208.”

“Then so am I,” he said. With that, Adrien ran off. Nathaniel followed close behind.

Lila ran the entire way there, the sound of Marinette’s pained screams guiding her to the right room. She could almost cry listening to those screams. “I’m coming, Marinette!”

 

Chloe’s dark spell summoned Marinette to the candles, trapping her there. She cried out, the sparks sending pain through her again. “P-please…,” Marinette cried exhaustedly. “Please, stop…”

Chloe chuckled, pouring more of the powder on one of the candles. “I’m so glad I decided to drag this out,” she purred. “You deserve every ounce of pain you’re getting, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

“W-why…?” Marinette sobbed. “Why are you—?”

Another spark went through her. The familiar pain shot through her body. She gasped. It was coming back to her. The reason why this pain was so familiar. The reason she stood as a ghost, instead of a living person.

She closed her eyes, screaming at the physical pain the spell inflicted and the mental pain her memories brought with them.

_“I’m sorry, Marinette,” Adrien said that fateful afternoon. The last bell of the day rang, releasing the students to go home. Adrien looked sheepishly at his girlfriend as she packed her bag. “I really wanted to go with you, but Nathalie just texted. They lost all their work from the last photoshoot. My father is livid and wants another shoot done asap, so I have to go in the opposite direction. If you’re willing to wait—.”_

_Marinette shrugged and offered a smile. “It’s okay, Adrien,” she said. “I have to be there in fifteen minutes, so waiting for your driver to come all the way back is a no-go. I’ll be fine, I can walk to the office.” She grinned. “I’m a big girl.”_

_Adrien sighed. “Still, I’m sorry,” he said again. “I really wanted to be there for the first day of your apprenticeship with my father.”_

_“I know,” Marinette chuckled, placing a quick kiss on his cheek. “You’ll just have to be there for my second day instead.” She stood and swung her backpack over her shoulder.  “I have to go if I want to get there in time. Wish me luck!”_

_“Good luck,” Adrien called after her as she walked out of the classroom. “I love you.”_

_Marinette stopped and smiled back at him. “I love you, too,” she said. With that, she left the classroom and the school._

_Marinette glanced down at her phone as she walked down the street. The Agreste building was not too far away, but she knew she would have to be quick to be on time. She stopped at a crosswalk. She groaned and impatiently pressed the button. “Come on,” she mumbled. “I need a green light…”_

_Chloe crossed her arms in the passenger seat of her father’s limousine. She tapped one finger on her sleeve in rhythm, a scowl gracing her features. “When will we get there?” she demanded of her driver._

_“In about twenty minutes, Ms. Bourgeois,” the driver replied._

_Chloe groaned loudly. “Remind me why I have to be the one to pick up the ambassador?” she whined._

_“Your father is stuck in a meeting, Ms. Bourgeois,” the driver said. “He said this is important to him and he had to send his most trusted instead—you.”_

_Chloe rolled her eyes. “Just hurry up,” she said. “I don’t have all day. Drive faster.”_

_“I will try my best, Ms. Bourgeois,” the driver complied with a sigh. He pressed the gas, increasing his speed a little._

_Chloe looked ahead, the street was bare for once, so traffic would not be a problem. But traffic light would. She scowled as the next light they were approaching turned yellow. That scowl slowly faded when she realized she recognized the lone pedestrian responsible for the light change._

_She hid a smirk as Marinette began to cross. What an opportunity fate served up for her. Luckily for her, she was a definite opportunist. “It’s one person crossing,” she said smoothly. “The light will change by the time we get up there. Don’t stop.”_

_“Yes, Ms. Bourgeois,” the driver said, keeping up his speed._

_He realized that he was approaching the intersection too fast and that there was no way the pedestrian would be able cross in time. He pressed the brake._

_“Stop,” Chloe said in a low voice. “And you’re fired.”_

_“She won’t cross in time,” the driver explained. “Even if we stop, it won’t affect our arrival time at all.”_

_“Speed up!” Chloe screamed._

_“No!” the driver screamed back. He slammed on the brakes._

_Chloe’s calm demeanor suddenly returned. She shook her head and shuffled through her bag. “I have to do everything myself…,” she said with a sigh. She unbuckled her seatbelt and brought a pencil out of her bag. In one quick move, she roughly stabbed the pencil into the driver’s leg._

_The driver wailed in pain, using one hand to grip his injured leg. Chloe used that distraction to her advantage. Once his leg lifted from the brake as he tried to cradle it, she launched herself head first to the driver’s seat. She had to be fast. If Marinette got across that crosswalk, her chance would be lost._

_“How fast?” she asked herself. She smirked and used her hand to press the gas as much as it would go. “Racecar fast.”_

_“No!” the driver yelled as the car accelerated. He tried to steer it away from the unsuspecting girl, he tried to honk his horn to warn her, but it was too late. The car was going to fast to keep Marinette out of its path. It was going too fast for Marinette to react._

_Both the driver and Marinette cried out as the car hit her at full speed and kept going. After it slammed into Marinette, it drove a few feet more before it slammed into a sign._

Lila burst through the door, breathing heavily as she took in the scene before her. “Marinette…”

“I was hit…,” Marinette whispered, the full memory coming back to her. “You hit me…”

“Give the girl a prize,” Chloe said. “You finally figured it out. I won't bore you with the details of how much money it cost to keep that driver's mouth shut."

“But why?” Lila asked, stepping deeper into the room. She approached Chloe cautiously. Perhaps if her steps were slow and calculating, she could get close enough to stop whatever spell Chloe was practicing. “Why’d you kill her?”

“Simple,” Chloe said, pouring more of the red powder into the candle. Marinette let out another scream. Lila winced, but kept her eyes on Chloe. She could not let her guard down for a second. Chloe continued, “The same reason I wanted to be like her.”

It suddenly clicked. “A boy,” Lila said in realization. “You wanted to be like Marinette to get a boy to like you. You killed her over a boy, didn’t you? She caught someone’s eye and you couldn’t have that.”

Nathaniel and Adrien ran into the room. They saw Chloe and Lila. They saw Elise lying unconscious on the floor. They both knew instinctively not to say anything to make Chloe snapped out of her currently calm state. Not when Lila and Elise were significantly closer to her than they were.

“A boy?” Marinette sobbed, trying to ignore the pain and get some answers. “You killed me over Adrien?”

“She didn’t kill you over Adrien,” Lila said softly.

“Kill…?” Adrien whispered, trying and failing miserably to figure out what was going on here.

“Marinette, remember when I told you that when you like someone, you start to notice the other people that like them, too?”

“Marinette…?” Adrien whispered again. He was on a cusp of a discovery. He knew it. He just had to piece it together.

Marinette nodded. “Y-yeah…”

“Well, you start to notice when he likes someone, too,” Lila said, taking another step closer to Chloe. “She didn’t kill you because you liked Adrien. She killed you because Nathaniel liked you.”

Marinette’s eyes went wide. “What…?”

“What?” Nathaniel’s and Adrien’s words unknowingly echoed Marinette’s.

“Chloe…,” Adrien said, his voice shaky. He bit back a sob as he walked to Chloe. “Please tell me it’s not true. Please tell me that Marinette’s death was an accident and that you didn’t…” He let out the sob he tried so hard to keep at bay. “Please tell me you didn’t kill her!”

Chloe sighed and looking at Adrien with sympathetic eyes. “I’m sorry, Adrien,” she said. “She was a threat. Please try to understand. I did it for love.”

“Love?!” Adrien snapped. “Chloe—.”

“Adrien,” Lila said before Adrien could lose it. “I don’t have time to explain, but Marinette is in pain. That bottle of powder that she has in her hand is hurting her.”

Adrien grabbed Chloe’s wrist and looked at the small bottle in her hand. He squeezed her wrist as hard as he could in anger. Chloe winced in pain. “You’re hurting her even in death,” he hissed. He used his free hand to pry the vial away from her. “She was the love of my life. I love her with everything I have, and you do this to her? And then have the nerve to call yourself my best friend?”

“She was a threat,” Chloe whispered, showing no sign of remorse.

“You’re insane,” Adrien hissed. Pained, angered tears ran down his face. “You’re completely and totally insane!”

“I did it for love,” Chloe said. “I love Nathaniel! I wasn’t going to let some nobody like Marinette take him away from me!”

“This is how you express your love?” Nathaniel asked, completely panicked by the entire situation. “By killing Marinette? Were you going to kill Elise, too? You think I could ever love a murderer?”

Chloe looked as through her world was falling apart. “Nathaniel…,” she said softly. “I did it for you…”

“You wasted your time,” Nathaniel said softly, pulling out his phone to call for help for Elise. “I could never love someone capable of this.”

Chloe suddenly relaxed in Adrien’s grasp. It was as though something inside her snapped. As if the reality of Nathaniel’s rejection was very slowly sinking in. “You…can’t love me…?” she asked softly.

“I’m sorry,” Nathaniel said with a sigh. “I can’t.”

Chloe’s eyes narrowed. She glared at Lila. “You!” she snapped. She jumped at her angrily, but Adrien’s grip on her stayed strong. She screamed in frustration. “You just couldn’t help yourself, could you?! You had to get in my way, so you could have Nathaniel for yourself!”

Lila shook her head in a mix of disbelief and disgust. “I do like Nathaniel,” she said. “But I would never sink so low as to purposely ruin your reputation. You did that by yourself.”

 

Adrien held on to Chloe until the police and ambulance arrived. Once Adrien turned Chloe over to the authorities, he joined Lila and Nathaniel in watching the ambulance tote Elise away on a gurney. The nightmare that Chloe caused finally came to the end. The scars would stay with everyone involved forever, but it was over. They could finally breathe.

Once the powder was out of Chloe’s hands and the candles were doused, Marinette was able to recover from the mystical pain. She stepped in front of Lila. “Thank you,” she said softly. “For everything.”

“Of course,” Lila said with a small smile. “I’m glad we caught your killer. That means your grudge is resolved, right?”

Marinette nodded. “That’s right,” she said. “I can move on now.”

“Are you talking to her?” Adrien asked. “Where is she?”

“Right in front of me,” Lila explained. “She says it’s time to move on now.”

“Mari?” Adrien said, his eyes searching the air in front of Lila as though Marinette would eventually come into focus. “I love you so much, Mari. I miss you.”

Marinette bit her lower lip. She sighed and looked at Lila. “I have one more request before I go…”

Lila looked at her in surprise. “What? Of course. Anything.”

“Forgive me,” Marinette said softly. She stepped into Lila’s body, possessing her. She looked at Adrien. “I miss you, too, Kitty.”

Adrien’s eyes went wide at the sound of Marinette’s pet name for him. He gently touched her cheek. “Marinette? It’s you?”

Marinette nodded. “It’s me,” she said. “I wanted to say this without a translator. I love you, Adrien. I always will. I will never forget the love we shared.”

Adrien felt the tears brimming in his eyes. “Mari…”

“I’ll wait for you,” Marinette promised. “I’ll be waiting on the other side. But, I don’t want to see you there for a long, long time. I want you to live a long, happy life before we see each other again, okay?”

Adrien sobbed and hurriedly wiped away the tears that managed to escape. “Okay,” he vowed. “I’ll live on for the both of us.”

“That means no more crying over me, okay? I want you to think of me and only think happy thoughts. And how we’ll be so happy together in the next life, okay.”

Adrien nodded. “Okay. Every memory with you was a happy one, Mari. It was for such a short time, but I’m so happy I got to have you in my life.”

Marinette smiled softly. “Goodbye, my love,” she said. She placed a gentle kiss on his cheek.

“Goodbye…”

Marinette slowly pulled away. She turned to face Nathaniel. “Hi there,” she said.

“Hi,” Nathaniel said softly, eyes wide. Was he really interacting with a ghost?

Marinette chuckled, as if she could read his thoughts. “Yes, it’s really me,” she said. “Listen, Nathaniel. It’s going to taking Lila a long time to gather up the courage to tell you, so I’m going to help her out. She likes you. A lot. Like, really, really likes you.”

Nathaniel’s entire face turned red from blush. “T-that much?”

Marinette nodded. “That much,” she said. “And I think you would really like her, too, if you gave her a chance. You should give her your number, okay?”

Nathaniel’s blush grew. Apparently, Lila was not the only one with a crush.

Marinette chuckled. “Trust me, she’ll take it if you offer it.”

A portal of light grew from the far corner of the room. Marinette could sense it as soon as it appeared. It was as though the portal beckoned to her. She looked at it with soft eyes. “It’s time…”

She stepped out of Lila’s body and turned back to face her tether and now, friend. “Marinette…”

She gave Lila a gentle smile. “You’ll be fine,” she offered those parting words.

Her smile grew wider as she about-faced and walked towards the portal. She gave Lila one more wave before stepping through. The portal closed behind her.

Despite Marinette being gone, Lila could feel the warmer and sense of completion she left behind. She smiled tenderly. “Rest in peace, Marinette,” she whispered.


End file.
